Too early to judge Gill and his young India team, says Dev

NEW DELHI: Former India captain Kapil Dev on Saturday said it is too early to judge new Test skipper Shubman Gill and his young team in England despite two defeats.

Gill, 25, took over a team in transition after the retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ahead of the five-Test tour of England.

The visitors, who trail the series 2-1, lost the opener before they bounced back to level the series. They then went down in a closely-fought third Test at Lord’s.

Ben Stokes’ England are in the box seat in the fourth Test and in sight of clinching the series.

“The team came close to winning (at Lord’s) and then lost,” said Dev, who is the president of Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), on the sidelines of the announcement of the second half of the national golf calender.

Stokes ends two-year wait for Test hundred before India collapse in fourth Test

“It’s a new team and it is getting an opportunity. In the coming days, these boys will come back with tournament victories.

“Any new team needs time to adjust. The new captain has to learn a lot and this series will be a learning step (for him).”

Gill, a top-order batter, leads the series batting with over 600 runs including three centuries and a career-best of 269 in the second Test in Birmingham.

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s best bowler with 14 wickets in five innings despite the collective decision that he play just three Tests to manage his workload.

Bumrah, a yorker specialist who bowls with an unusual slingshot action has more than 200 Test wickets in his injury-prone career of 48 Tests.

But Dev, who never missed a Test due to injury in his 16-year-old career that ended in 1994 with 434 wickets, defended Bumrah’s decision to skip matches.

“I think everybody is different,” the 1983 World Cup-winning captain told reporters.

“Times have changed, bodies are different and they are working differently.

“He is one of the finest bowlers we have. His action is so awkward, and to sustain it this far, I think it’s fabulous.

“We never thought that someone would play so long (with this action) because he puts so much stress on his body. He is still delivering for the Indian team, hats off to him.”

Dev said Indian golf is ready to take a leaf out of cricket’s set up in India and expand with the PGTI securing new sponsors and increased prize money for tournaments.